Coronavirus: Buhari attends events, invite him – Ezekwesili tells National Assembly

Former presidential candidate, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has urged the leadership of the National Assembly to invite President Muhammadu Buhari over the coronavirus outbreak.

She noted that since Buhari has been going about and attending events, he should be able to go to the National Assembly.

Coronavirus, already declared a global pandemic, has caused 7,000 fatalities and affected nearly 200 countries.

In a statement on Friday through her spokesperson, Ozioma Ubabukoh, Oby Ezekwesisli said at a time when Nigeria is at war against a rapidly escalating pandemic and an increasingly distressed, deteriorating economy, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Buhari, is missing in action.

Ezekwesili said Buhari should explain to the lawmakers and the Nigerian public his administration’s strategies and efforts at containing the coronavirus pandemic.

The co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign group, said, “Fellow Citizens, it is grossly irresponsible of Nigeria President, General Muhammadu Buhari, to hide away from addressing and assuring his citizens at a time like this when leaders of other nations are doing much more.”

The former Education Minister maintained that it was grossly incompetent of the President that he moves around “Majoring in the Minors of declaring events open”, while his citizens are panicked about the fast accelerating health and economic crises.”

She charged the National Assembly leadership to exercise their oversight role and invite President Buhari to render account and plans of his stewardship on the pandemic and economic wars the country is thrown into. Do this now.”

Ezekwesili said the federal legislature must act swiftly to wake up the Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria to provide the Constitutional leadership he swore to provide, especially when the country faces any kind of war.

She said, “NASS must quickly avert any repeat of President Buhari’s lax counter-terrorism war that has cost the country too many lives. A contagion from deadly #CoronaVirus must be avoided immediately. NOW! Nigeria simply cannot afford the implications of an exponential increase in the number of citizens infected by #CoronaVirus. It is insensitive of the President to be mute at a time like this.

“That @followlasg published that it is already contact-tracing 1,300 Nigerians in one way or the other linked to confirm cases of the disease should worry us.

“Let President Buhari come out of his self-isolation and lead his country and people to win these wars. The economic impact of the health crisis will be severe on our majority’s extremely poor of more than 93 million. President Buhari must be reminded that leadership is not about personal comfort”, Ezekwesili added.